In early August, I spent a week with my daughter Jessica Rose aka Dolphin Girl in Key Largo, Florida. I only bought one bottle of wine the entire week, because despite a reasonably good selection that was available, there were no real bargains to be found. That wasn't a problem, because the micro-brews were good. There was one bottle that caught my eye however, and I couldn't resist picking it up, based on the raves it has received from our good friend and colleague, Champagne Warrior Brad Baker. Here's what I posted on my Facebook page as I sipped on it over a few hours during my last night in the Keys:
1993 Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Cuvee Royale Brut
This baby isn't just hangin' in there, it's struttin' its stuff! No wine for a week, and to enjoy this after that is a special treat. Do I have to take notes or can I just ease back and groove with it? (Some habits are hard to break and I ended up recording these impressions.)
Medium straw color ~ ample mousse and active bead ~ expressive hazel nut and pear, with nice minerality and what seems to be an interesting note of well integrated oak ~ excellent presence, concentration and acids ~ beautiful stuff ~ ~ no wonder the Champagne Warrior loves this so much!
A funny thing about this wine; it was the last '93 in a bin of 2000s and it was marked at $23.99. I grabbed it and 6 Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPAs and checked out. As I was walking to the car, it occurred to me that I may have been overcharged and when I checked the receipt, sure enough, they hit me up for $28.99 for the bubbly. I went back in and had the following conversation with the woman behind the counter.
“Excuse me, but I was overcharged for this bottle.”
“No, it's in our system at that price.”
Yes, but the price tag clearly says $23.99”
“Maybe somebody changed the tag.”
“Is this your price tag?”
(Hesitates...) “Yes...”
“Look, it's obvious what happened here. It's the last '93 in a bin of 2000s. This is listed at the old price, both vintages have the same UPC and the scanner reads the price of the newer vintage.”
“I'm sorry, that's what it's in our system at.”
“In Michigan, where I come from, a retailer has to honor the price that's on the product.”
“Oh, really?”
It was obvious that she wasn't going to budge, so I let it go, figuring it was still a decent price for what should be a great wine and as it turned out, it was a great wine!
- from Some Bubbles & 2 Rosés
Reporting from Day-twah,
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